Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District (NRD) Groundwater Management Plan - Public Meetings for Well Owners

Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District (NRD) Groundwater Management Plan - Public Meetings for Well Owners

Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District (P-MRNRD) has recently revised its Groundwater Management Plan. The plan was revised to incorporate, and respond to, new data and information about groundwater quantity and quality throughout the District. The new plan incorporates data from recent studies as well as regulation changes including:

No nitrogen fertilizer application in the Platte & Elkhorn River Valley until after March 1st and no fall fertilizer applications until after November 1st in all other areas of the District.

Require well permits from the P-MRNRD prior to the construction of all new wells capable of pumping over 50 gallons per minute (gpm).

Minimum well spacing of 600 ft between any water supply well, including domestic wells.

The new requirements will affect:

Well drillers who work within the P-MRNRD. Those well drillers will have to apply for and receive a permit prior to installing a well that pumps over 50 gpm and comply with well spacing requirements.

Agricultural crop producers throughout the P-MRNRD will have to follow the minimum nitrogen fertilizer application dates.

Communities within the P-MRNRD that supply their own municipal water will need to work with the District to enhance protections for their Wellhead Protection Area.

Homeowners with their own domestic well will be encouraged to test their drinking water at least once every four years.

Protecting Drinking WaterThe plan in intended to help protect the drinking water supplies of over 750,000 people within the District that receive their water from a community or rural water system. Additionally it is focused on enhancing the monitoring, identification and response to groundwater quality issues that may impact the estimated 21,000 people who get their water from private domestic wells. Ultimately the plan will allow for the availability of groundwater supplies to be monitored and better managed to all for future uses without jeopardizing long-term sustainability.

Public Meetings ScheduledAs part of finalizing the plan, P-MRNRD will be hosting public meetings to gather feedback and answer questions from the public. The remaining meetings are planned for:

Meghan's education includes a master's degree in natural resources with minors in political science and environmental planning. She also has a graduate certification in public policy analysis, as well as undergraduate degrees in environmental studies and anthropology from UNL. Her graduate project was focused on the development of collaborative and adaptive management for the Missouri River.

Sittler began as coordinator of the Lower Platte River Corridor Alliance in December 2008. Prior to that, Sittler worked for the National Park Service as an archaeological technician, an environmental educator with the Lincoln Lancaster County Health Department, an adviser and instructor with the UNL Environmental Studies program and School of Natural Resources and as a research and outreach specialist for the National Drought Mitigation Center. Meghan began her work as a Nebraska Extension Educator focussing on water in 2016.